A grandiose display of transfer deadline day in England is pretty much a staple of the sporting media these days, as twice a year, Jim White and his merry men speculate whether an innocuous trip by a footballer away from his house means that he’s about to leave his club imminently. The day has become synonymous with absurd scenarios (the only reference I’ll make to Peter Odemwingie, I promise), shrewd signings (Luis Suarez), and enormously regrettable decisions (Andy Carroll).
This year, fortunately or unfortunately depending on who you support, has been the same. And the deals have been rolling in all summer. Some teams have very certainly been smart in how they have acted over July and August, though others appear to have lost their heads. So who are the winners and losers of these hectic months?
Well for Arsene Wenger of Arsenal, you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. Fans bemoaned the lack of any new signings, though anything on transfer deadline day could have easily been consigned to the panic-buy bin. Petr Cech was the only (noteworthy) signing for the Gunners, and although a safe pair of hands in goal, he isn’t going to win Arsenal the league. So does that mean that Wenger feels his same squad from 2014 can triumph? Perhaps. Although inevitably lamented for making no proactive signings, it’s arguably better than taking an extraordinarily expensive gamble on a relatively unknown quantity.
On an unrelated note, let’s move onto Manchester United. There are three big talking points regarding Lois van Gaal’s side. Anthony Martial will either be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or the worst thing since unsliced bread. He’s talented, but will always have an incredibly costly burden on every performance he makes now. Secondly; David de Gea. It’s simply comical how they’ve failed to dispense the player who has caused such a commotion over the past several months. And finally Pedro. The player United courted for weeks, before deciding (either voluntarily or involuntarily) that he wasn’t for them. So Chelsea nabbed him, and he proved impressive on his debut against West Brom. Oh how United could rue that decision.
Ironically United fans will be feeling a lot more blue than their rivals, Manchester City. To call them busy is too much of an understatement. £104 million has been spent on Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Otamendi; a monstrous amount from any angle. Like Martial, only time will tell whether these players live up to their respective price-tags. Fabian Delph and Patrick Roberts could be the losers here with City’s latest wheelings and dealings. You only need to ask Jack Rodwell that.
Famous in recent years for extravagant purchases, Tottenham Hotspur have been slightly less busy in 2015. Flops Paulinho and Roberto Soldado have finally left, and striker Son Heung-Min joined in late August. On the other side though, Saido Berahino failed to arrive in North London, and subsequently claimed he’ll never play for West Brom again. His strops could easily unsettle the aura at The Hawthorns, but £12m signing Salomon Rondon looks sharp enough to fill the mardy youngster’s boots. The Baggies have spent considerably over the summer, yet have made a loss by shipping out the former club-record signing Brown Ideye to Greece. Tony Pulis’ squad still looks good enough for mid-table obscurity.
Although there’s been plenty of strops and dramas regarding players and their lucrative demands, a few clubs will be happy that their stars have stayed put. Southampton have been a feeder club for many top teams in recent years (Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Bale, Lovren, etc), and this continued in 2015 as Nathaniel Clyne and Morgan Schneiderlin moved on to pastures new. However Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama have remained on the south coast for the time being, despite pressure from bigger clubs. On the other side of the fence, defenders Cedric Soares and Virgil van Dijk have arrived to hopefully cement any frailties.
Everton also suffered intense media speculation, over the future of fledgling England defender John Stones. Jose Mourinho swarmed over the talent throughout the summer, but Everton bravely relented and kept hold of Stones. Fans would have mounted more pressure on Roberto Martinez if he’d relented, and Chelsea’s defence has been the subject of much ire from Mourinho and pundits alike, so it remains to be seen who this will affect more, Everton or Chelsea.
West Ham were probably the busiest and shrewdest on transfer deadline day. Michael Antonio, Victor Moses, Nikica Jelavic, and perhaps most importantly, instrumental playmaker Alex Song have all joined the Hammers; and they should fit nicely into Slaven Bilic’s jigsaw. This is on top of the already impressive Dimitri Payet, so contrary to my pre-season predictions, this could be a positive season for West Ham.
Regarding the Premiership new boys, it’s difficult to see which club made the most of the hectic summer. Bournemouth have signed big with Tyrone Mings, Max Gradel and Glenn Murray, though the Cherries failed with their attempts to resign Lewis Grabban from Norwich. The Canaries made £6m from Bradley Johnson’s new club Derby City (not County apparently), but seemed relatively content with Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan’s impact so far. Watford were the busiest club of the top flight, signing 15 players since June. Whether this will be beneficial remains to be seen, as the club have had a tough start to Premier League life. There are no standout signings, so Quique Flores could have his work cut out for him by creating a good team fusion with so many nationalities.
Stoke City made the headlines frequently with their audacious signings, the most extraordinary being Xherdan Shaqiri after much speculation and supposed breakdowns in talks. He joins former Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay, who has so far failed to deliver.
Swansea yet again proved why they’re hugely respected in the footballing world with some tactful signings. Andre Ayew, who joined from Marseille for free, has so far taken English football by storm and must surely be the signing of the summer. A second Michu in the making.
Aston Villa made numerous signings over the summer also, but it’s Scott Sinclair who has proved the most effective so far. After making his loan spell permanent at the end of last season, the winger has revitalised his career with 5 goals to his name already. This perhaps makes up for the money spent on Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede. Ayew has so far failed to live up to expectations, and £6m seems a lot to be thrown at Gestede, who doesn’t have much going for him aside from a devastating aerial prowess. Villa fans may be disappointed that their masses of money could easily have been wasted.
Another club who are often purported to be in crisis are Sunderland, who have also spent considerably. Jeremain Lens looks sharp, though the £8m spent on Fabio Borini is questionable at best. At least the Black Cats made some money from selling off the inconsistent Connor Wickham to Crystal Palace. This was one of a few signings for Alan Pardew’s team, but the greatest coup at Selhurst Park is probably dynamic playmaker Yohan Cabaye. This was the same Cabaye that dictated Newcastle’s almost-meteoric rise a few years ago, before being sold for a considerable profit to PSG. Palace fans should be very happy with how calmly the club has dealt with the chaotic transfer window, where other bigger clubs have failed.
With nightmares of 2011 in their sub-conscious, Liverpool were eager to wrap up their business early this time around. Christian Benteke is the biggest arrival on Merseyside, and many fans should be right to be sceptical over his £32.5m transfer fee. His first few games have been promising, and he’s at least kept Danny Ings on the bench. Ings could easily follow in Lambert’s footsteps this year, by leaving next summer and removing himself from the England equation.
Leicester have lost their influential veteran Cambiasso, but they’ve at least replaced him with Goekhan Inler. The Foxes have made a surprisingly good start to this season despite losing saviour Nigel Pearson, so their slim transfer activity might not be too detrimental at the moment.
The most expensive regret of the season so far belongs to Newcastle, and ticking time-bomb Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian forward has amassed two yellow cards and a red in his first four games, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him exiled from Tyneside come January.
Compared to previous seasons’ underwhelming escapades, the 2015 summer transfer window has certainly lived up to the billing. Records have been smashed, and for a student moping around awaiting the new term to start, it’s at least provided something to idly whittle the time away. And thanks to the representatives of Manchester United and Real Madrid, it’ll live in the memory of most football fans for a long while to come.